Kevin Durant is not one to shy away from online banter. While most NBA superstars ignore the outside noise, he faces them head on, many a times by calling out his critics and trolls on social media. Amid his ongoing trade rumors, The Slim Reaper went at it with some netizens yet again when they questioned his legacy following his Warriors era by resurfacing Charles Barkley’s famous ‘bus driver’ analogy. And Durant was left with no option but to summon Stephen Curry to back his stance.
It all started when a fan tweeted, “I think it’s time to admit Kevin Durant’s trajectory after leaving Golden State is very underwhelming.” There is some truth to that claim, as KD has not made it past the second round in the last six years. Even worse, he failed to lead the Suns to the playoffs this season. However, Durant seemingly does not see these outcomes as underwhelming, as he replied, “I highly disagree, wanna debate??”
Then, another netizen chimed in by questioning KD’s performance in the 2022 playoffs, when he got swept by the Celtics in the first round, “Were you satisfied with your performance against Boston in 2022?” The two-time champ responded, “Of course not, ima perfectionist, how u think I got so great?? Did u use those 4 games as a declaration of my talent?” However, he was immediately met with more criticism, as another fan called him a bus rider, “As Chuck would say you weren’t a bus driver, you were a passenger. You got carried to all the rings you have. You skilled but not good enough to be the bus driver.”
Of course, this was a reference to the comments Barkley made on Inside the NBA three years ago about KD’s two title victories in Golden State, “You guys always talk about that championship stuff. I try to tell y’all. All these bus riders. They don’t mean nothing to me. If you ain’t driving the bus, don’t walk around talking about you a champion. If you riding the bus, I don’t want to hear it. All these guys walking around with championship rings, y’all bus riders.” Per Chuck, Steph was the main guy on that championship squad, and not KD.
As the controversy struck again with the netizen’s comment, KD summoned his former teammate, “Ask 30, I stay with that 30 on me.” Although Durant did not name anyone, he was likely referring to Steph, who wears the number 30 jersey.
Ask 30, I stay with that 30 on me..
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) June 11, 2025
Of course, no one knows how crucial KD was for the Warriors’ back-to-back title runs than Steph. While Barkley called him a bus rider, Durant won the Finals MVP both times, and was clearly the best player on the floor on most nights. During his first title run, he averaged a whopping 35.2 points and over eight rebounds. A year later, he averaged a 28.8-point double-double. Meanwhile, Curry has slightly lesser numbers in both series. Now, it could be because the Cavs defense was more focused on guarding Steph as he was arguably the biggest threat, but the numbers were clearly in KD’s favor. Maybe, that’s why he has constantly spoken up against the ‘bus rider’ tag as he has two Finals MVP trophies to back his claim.
(Developing Story)
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